


Miles O'Brien + The Setlik III Massacre

by flyboi_writer



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Angst, Cardassians, Character Study, Gen, More Pain For Miles O'Brien, Setlik III Massacre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29452485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyboi_writer/pseuds/flyboi_writer
Summary: A study on Miles O'Brien and how the Setlik III Massacre affected him-Warning for mentions of death and being shot-
Kudos: 2





	Miles O'Brien + The Setlik III Massacre

**Author's Note:**

> So we had an assignment for English and yes, I wrote something about Miles O'Brien. I just finished DS9 and I wanted to write something to torture Miles more :)
> 
> The Massacre details I wrote aren't exactly canon compliant but the story for class needed to be only 4 pages AND my English teacher doesn't watch Star Trek so it didn't ~really~ matter

Miles O’Brien didn’t join Starfleet to become a soldier. He didn’t join Starfleet because he enjoyed the weight of a phaser in his arms or because he liked feeling the harsh sun beat down onto his back. He didn’t join Starfleet because he liked seeing the beaten and battered bodies of his friends fall lifeless to the ground, surrounded by rivers of freshly drawn blood. Miles O’Brien joined Starfleet because he wanted more. He wanted to see the stars. To seek out new life and civilizations, to boldly go where no one had gone before.

But that’s not what had happened.

Two years after he joined Starfleet a war broke out. It wasn’t a big one, small skirmishes here and there- people didn’t even really consider it a war until much later. Miles didn’t worry about it, he didn’t need to. He had grown up in the Federation- on Earth. There was no better place to be. Life was easy, with no constraints or worries. Life on Earth was as close to a utopia as something could ever be, at least to him. As a young child, he had assumed that the rest of the quadrant was like that. He had no reason to think otherwise.

His two years in Starfleet before the war were spent on Starbase 11, acting as a junior repairman. It was here where his idealistic and perfect view of the quadrant began to crack. He witnessed death there for the first time, a young man killed by a ruptured plasma conduit. Sometimes, if Miles lay silent for a while, he could still hear him screaming. It shook him up, showed him life wasn’t as rosy as he thought it would be. But, in his gut, Miles knew it was normal. Death was a natural part of life and sometimes, it came sooner for some than it should’ve.

In 2347, Miles O’Brien was transferred to the  _ USS Rutledge _ . Finally, he had what he wanted. A job where he could explore the quadrant and repair a state-of-the-art starship on the fly. But two weeks into the posting, the  _ Rutledge _ received a distress call from the Federation outpost on Setlik III. The 5-hour voyage was a tense one. Miles stood at tactical, countless battle simulations running through his head as he flexed his fingers, preparing to fire the phasers at whatever enemy they encountered.  _ Just like the simulations _ , he told himself as they dropped out of warp and found the daunting outline of a Cardassian battlecruiser in orbit around the planet. It proved to be a quick battle, a few minutes at the most. Captain Maxwell remarked later that those ‘wretched Cardies’ probably weren’t expecting someone to show up as soon as the  _ Rutledge _ did. 

After destroying the battlecruiser, Maxwell frantically put together multiple landing parties to beam down to the planet and rescue any survivors. Miles stood on the transporter, phaser rifle held in his trembling hands as they beamed down to the rocky surface. 

They found themselves just on the outskirts of the Federation colony that had sent the signal. Miles could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he spotted the bodies that were scattered around the colony.

“Come on- file in. If there are any survivors we have to get them to the  _ Rutledge _ now.”

He led his team through the dusty streets, trying to ignore the mutilated corpses that were shoved into random nooks and crannies or the occasional medic whispering to a dying patient that the Cardassians were gone and yes, they were going to be okay. He was bending down to assist a mildly injured survivor when one of the ensigns shouted for him from just a little ways away. 

“Sir! I saw something!” He was pointing at a ridge just ahead, “Over there! I can’t make out what but-”

Miles swore he could smell the acrid scent of burning flesh before he heard the ensign’s scream. Something-  _ someone _ had fired a shot from the ridge. The ensign, who was really no more than a boy- younger than Miles was- shrieked. A short, agonizing scream that ripped through the air and almost sent O’Brien stumbling to the ground. He kept himself upright, fighting to keep the bile down as he waved for a medic and ushered his team towards the rocky outcropping up ahead. He was barking orders at his men, not entirely sure what they were or what his plan was. 

As they positioned themselves behind the boulders, O’Brien spotted a scaly grey mass moving quickly towards them and the colony.  _ Cardassians _ , he thought bitterly,  _ they killed Keating and now they’re here to kill everyone else _ . 

“On my command,” O’Brien announced to his troops, “open fire at those bloody Cardies.”

He stood there, heart pounding in his chest, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Later, O’Brien realized that that was the moment when he finally understood what Maxwell had told him earlier.

“Lieutenant,” He had said as he handed O’Brien the new pip for his collar, “The universe isn’t all like Earth or the Federation. It’s going to get a lot harder, a lot quicker. I hope you are up to the task.”

Of course, at the time, O’Brien hadn’t understood what he meant but now- now as he commanded his men to fire upon those Cardassian soldiers and as he saw bodies of both Cardassian and Starfleet officers fall lifeless to the ground, he understood. He understood perfectly. And he hated it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway, I hope you liked it. Kudos and comments always appreciated :)


End file.
